The resources below - provided by the National Sleep Foundation - will also help you learn more about children and sleep.
Did you know a sleep diary is an effective way to track and monitor your child's sleep habits?
Download the sleep diary (PDF)>>
Games, activities and more...who says learning about sleep can't be fun?
Check out the Web site>>
Have you met the Dozes yet? They're ready to teach your family about sleep.
Meet the Dozes>>
Home - Children & Sleep - Establishing Healthy Sleep Routines
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Establishing Healthy Sleep Routines
Understanding your child's sleep habits
By the age of two, most children have spent more time asleep than awake, and, overall, a child will spend 40 percent of his or her childhood asleep. Sleep is especially important for children as it directly impacts mental and physical development.
Circadian rhythms, or the sleep-wake cycle, are regulated by light and dark, and these rhythms take time to develop, resulting in the irregular sleep schedules of newborns. The rhythms begin to develop at about 6 weeks, and by 3 to 6 months most infants have a regular sleep-wake cycle.
There are two alternating types or states of sleep:
• Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) or "quiet" sleep. During the deep states of NREM sleep, blood supply to the muscles is increased, energy is restored, tissue growth and repair occur, and important hormones are released for growth and development.
• Rapid Eye Movement (REM) or "active" sleep. During REM sleep, our brains are active, and dreaming occurs. Our bodies become immobile; breathing and heart rates are irregular.
Babies spend 50 percent of their time in each of these states, and the sleep cycle is about 50 minutes. At about 6 months of age, REM sleep comprises about 30 percent of sleep. By the time children reach preschool age, the sleep cycle is about every 90 minutes.
Helping your newborn develop good sleep habits
For newborns, sleep during the early months occurs around the clock, and the sleep-wake
cycle interacts with the need to be fed, changed and nurtured. Newborns sleep a
total of 10.5 to 18 hours a day on an irregular schedule with periods of 1 to 3
hours spent awake. The sleep period may last a few minutes to several hours.
• Identify signs of sleepiness. (i.e. some fuss, cry or rub their eyes)
• Put baby in the crib when drowsy, not asleep.
• Place baby to sleep on his or her back with face and head clear of blankets and other soft items.
• Encourage nighttime sleep.
Helping your infant develop good sleep habits
By 6 months of age, nighttime feedings are usually not necessary, and many infants
sleep through the night; 70-80 percent will do so by 9 months of age. Infants typically
sleep 9-12 hours during the night and take 30-minute to 2-hour naps, one to four
times a day - fewer as they reach age one.
When infants are put to bed drowsy but not asleep, they are more likely to become "self-soothers," which enables them to fall asleep independently at bedtime and put themselves back to sleep during the night. Those who have become accustomed to parental assistance at bedtime often become "signalers" and cry for their parents to help them return to sleep during the night.
Sleep Tips for Infants (3-11 months)
• Create a consistent and enjoyable bedtime routine.
• Establish a regular "sleep-friendly" environment.
• Encourage baby to fall asleep independently and to become a "self-soother."
